Saturday, October 30, 2010

Gimme Shelter

One of the big buzz yarns that all the knitter types were chattering about at Rhinebeck was Jared Flood's Shelter. I'll admit that I hadn't heard tell of it before then, but being the lemming that I am, once I heard 'unbelievable colors' and 'tweed that isn't as scratchy as it could be', I knew that Shelter and I had a date with destiny. So I ordered one lonely skein on a trial basis and I can say that I will definitely be back for more in the future. Once acquired, I trolled around Ravelry for the perfect one skein project, and came up with a pattern that I not only already owned but had specially colored coded with my handy colored pencils: Habitat!The SpecsPattern: Habitat by Brooklyn TweedYarn: Shelter in 'Sap', one skein exactlyNeedles: sizes 6 & 7Size: S/MMods: None at all, although I did have a misstep. I knit the first 15 rows without realizing that I had neglected to do chart A. As my kids would say 'durrrr'...so yeah, instead of trying to wing it, I did the adult thing by frogging and starting over.Right away I had the sense that I wouldn't have enough yarn for a size L so I decided to ding it down to S/M. Phew! So glad I did as I had less than 5 yards left. The result is a perfect snug little hat.My first foray with this pattern was done with Shelter's polar opposite, Malabrigo. It made for a hat that was poofty and lofty whereas this iteration is quite the opposite. I have to say that both versions have their charms, but I am slightly partial to this one as the color is a mind-blower. Do you remember the most fabulously beloved but now discontinued color of Felted Tweed 'Pickle'? (what--you don't have all the Felted Tweed colors available in your mind for immediate recall?) It's reminiscent of that luscious green but with flecks of orange as well. Simply put, it's perfection.I am so happy to have refound my knitting inspiration. I am back to that happy place where I think about knitting like it's my job and text back and forth with Babs about what out next (knitting) move is. Because of this increased activity and enthusiasm, I have more small accessories in the pipeline, so stay tuned because I am cranking. them. OUT!

I love this hat - I have several lonely skeins of Shelter - I have to make me a Habitat - I had gotten as far as locating the pattern and getting my "Sap" ready but after seeing yours - omg, can't cast on quick enough!

I love the hat! I have to say, I saw Shelter in person at Hill Country Weavers in Austin a couple of weeks ago and I wasn't blown away. It seemed scratchy to me, so I didn't even buy one skein, but this makes me reconsider.